Vegan Caramel Pretzel Ice Cream

It is no secret that the nondairy ice cream flavor selection in the grocery store is severely lacking. Obviously this depends on where you live, but I think I speak for most of us nondairy confection connoisseurs when I say ANY addition would be appreciated. This Vegan Caramel Pretzel Ice Cream was born out of this frustration. It's creamy vanilla ice cream base is absolutely loaded down with dark chocolate and pretzel chunks and finished with a salted caramel swirl. Dreyer's needs to bow down!

Ben and Jerry Bringin' It

When I was in college I remember the exact MOMENT I found out that Ben and Jerry's would be releasing four nondairy flavors. At this point there was very little in the way of purchasable vegan ice creams and to hear that a major brand was going to be stepping into the almond milk arena was incredibly satisfying. Fortunately for me, I went to college in Los Angeles so all of the flavors were available immediately upon release.

I tried and loved them all. To this day I still believe Ben and Jerry's to have the best store bought dairy-free ice cream around. That said, the most important thing to come from this venture for consumers was not the four flavors themselves BUT the influx of nondairy products from all sorts of brands that followed. Once demand was established, other companies followed suit. However, there is still a long way to go before I will be truly satisfied with my grocery store frozen section selection. Until then, I will continue to create recipes just like this one for Vegan Caramel Pretzel Ice Cream.

Vegan Caramel Pretzel Ice Cream Ingredients

For the Caramel Sauce

• Sugar: Caramel is made from a mixture of butter and granulated sugar. Do NOT substitute brown sugar as this combination will make toffee instead. The sugar will be heated by itself on the stove until completely melted. This is where the "caramelization" takes place. Low and slow is best. You should also avoid any kind of sugar substitute. Sorry, it won't work.
• Vegan Butter: Your dairy-free butter will be added to the melted sugar after it has been removed from the heat. This will give the caramel a glossy sheen and a richness in flavor.
• Full Fat Coconut Milk: To keep our caramel sauce dairy-free we will add full fat coconut milk in place of heavy cream. This will both thin out our caramel sauce and cool it down enough for both transfer and general use.
• Sea Salt: Salt is a known flavor enhancer and sweet caramel sauce is no exception. Sea salt will provide a delicious contrast so that we don't get lost in the sweet richness of the sauce.

For the Ice Cream

• Canned Coconut Milk: Full fat, canned coconut milk is a great dairy-free replacement for heavy cream. Be sure you aren't purchasing canned coconut cream or light coconut milk. The fat in the coconut milk will give our ice cream the thick creaminess we desire.
• Nondairy Milk: As we don't want the coconut flavor to be super prevalent in our finished product, it is important to add in another nondairy milk. Almond, soy and oat milk work best. Rice milk has a bit more water so it typically doesn't perform as well.
• Agave Nectar: Agave nectar, also known as maguey syrup or agave syrup, is a sweetener produced from several species of agave. Blue-agave syrup contains 56% fructose as a sugar providing sweetening properties.
• Canola Oil: Canola oil is a neutral or "flavorless" vegetable oil that won't conflict with the flavor of your finished finished product. It will also give the ice cream that melt in your mouth effect.
• Xanthan Gum: Xanthan gum is is an effective thickening agent, emulsifier, and stabilizer that prevents ingredients from separating. This is extra important when making ice cream at home as you will be without access to regularly-used manufacturing additives.
• Vanilla Bean Paste: Vanilla bean paste is very similar to vanilla extract. The main difference is the consistency and potency. VB paste is thicker and has a gel-like texture. When added into baked goods, it is also possible to see the vanilla bean flecks which is desirable here. If you can't find vanilla bean paste, you can substitute the insides of a single vanilla bean.
• Chopped Dark Chocolate (50-70%): When talking about dark chocolate, 50-70% cacao refers to the amount of the chocolate bar that is made up completely of ingredients derived from the cocoa bean. The remainder of the chocolate will be made up of sugar or other flavor enhancers like vanilla. If you would prefer a milder dark chocolate, keep your percentage closer to 50%. If you like a less-sweet chocolate, 70% is the way to go.
• Mini Pretzel Twists: Cheap, mini pretzels can be found at just about any store and any brand will do here. Sub gluten-free pretzels if you would like to make this recipe gluten-free.

Please remember if you make this recipe to snap a pic and share with @censoredbaker on instagram!

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Looking for more frozen dessert recipes?

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